As
this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) came to an end, the shiny,
light-weight, thin gadgets were packed away and the technology industry took a
step back to evaluate which ground-breaking development will really make a
difference to consumer’s everyday lives.

While the in-car technology, digital health devices, ultrabooks
and smartphones will all undoubtedly impact and improve our lives, it was the
connected TVs that created the greatest buzz.

Is the iPad the future of media and publishing? Media moguls like Rupert Murdoch and Richard Branson think it is. As a result, they're making big bets on the iPad.

Another big name apparently has a lot of faith in Apple's tablet device too: the BBC. According to reports, it is planning to launch a version of iPlayer in the United States, and has chosen to roll it out on the iPad.

In a comparison of the user experience offered by VOD Player websites, Sky Player came bottom, 33% behind the top rated site, the BBC iPlayer.

The iPlayer, with a score of 88% was well ahead of the nearest rival, and seems to provide the benchmark for such services. Since customers need to pay to subscribe to the Sky Player, the low score should be of concern to Sky.

According to BBC Director-General Mark Thompson, "British ideas are no longer strangers in LA and the world’s other media capitals." But those outside of the UK -- including British citizens -- can't officially get their fix of British content through the BBC's iPlayer.

That's something Thompson hopes will be fixed, and fixed soon. In a speech at the MediaGuardian Edinburgh International Television Festival, Thompson told attendees "Within a year we aim to launch an international commercial version of
the iPlayer. Subject to Trust approval, we also want to find a way of
letting UK licence payers and servicemen and servicewomen use a version
of the UK BBC iPlayer wherever they are in the world."

The majority of consumers want to be able to watch online content through their TVs. While 17% already can do this, a further 58% say they would like to be able to do this.

The Digital Entertainment Survey, from Entertainment Media Research and Wiggin, reveals a demand for on-demand programming delivered online, though not many people want to actually pay for it. People would consider paying for movies, adult content, and music and sporting events, but little else.

Google's bread and butter may be search and the recession may have led Google to cut back on projects that weren't bringing home the bacon but that doesn't mean that Google isn't looking to expand its already large footprint on the web.

It just announced that by the end of the year, it hopes to be offering its publishing partners the ability to sell ebooks through Google Book Search, putting it in competition with Amazon in the burgeoning ebook market.

ITV has been busy promoting its newly rebranded video player lately, as it attempts to improve take up of its online catch up service.

While video views on ITV.com have risen over the past year, it still lags behind the iPlayer. It has updated again though, and now the ITV Player looks more of a match for the BBC's online video offering.

ITV has been tweaking its online catch up TV service, and has introduced a few improvements for customers viewing video on its website, using Microsoft Silverlight.

The service is going to be rebranded as the 'ITV Player', which is at least a bit more distinctive than 'catch up'. As well as a new name, ITV needs to be improve the usability of its online video, so what difference has Silverlight made to this?